From one of our Kindermusik moms, Melissa, who attends Studio 3 Music, a Kindermusik studio in Seattle with her son, Luke. I read it, and by the middle of the email, I had tears streaming down my face. I have never had a story about one of our Kindermusik children touch me quite as much as Luke’s. Enjoy!
My child is special. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, ‘your child is special too’, but my child is REALLY special. Luke is a special needs child. In short, he was born with brain damage. He has developmental, fine and gross motor, and significant speech delays. One thing that Luke is not delayed in is his love for music!
We started Kindermusik with Luke when he was 2. As we sang during Luke’s first class his teacher, Beth, explained how holding the different sized egg shakers encouraged different motor skills. I felt a pang of emotion shoot like lightening through me. “This is perfect for Luke.”
We played with items with different textures, something Luke’s physical therapist had suggested just weeks earlier. We drove cars on different body parts, played games, and of course, sang and danced! I knew right away that Kindermusik going to be great for Luke.
After that first class I buckled Luke in his car seat, drove about a quarter of a mile down the road and began to sob. I was (and am) SO thankful that Luke has this opportunity to nourish and support him in such a fun way. I immediately turned my car around and went back to the Kindermusik class.
Miss Beth saw my tear stained eyes and gave me a big hug before I could even share anything with her. Once I found some composure I briefly shared Luke’s condition with Beth and told her what her class means to us. Here she is, just doing her job, like so many other Kindermusik teachers but she is actually helping to HEAL my child…and expand yours!
For most of Luke’s first round of Kindermusik he was typically just along for the ride. He didn’t have the fine motor skills to play many of the instruments, his sensory issues made it difficult for him to transition from playing to being held quietly during cuddle time, he doesn’t have the ability to talk so singing along was out, he didn’t make any sounds at all for that matter, also, he couldn’t sit still for story or rolling a ball back and forth, and he didn’t mimic so he wasn’t quite developing thru watching either. I pretty much held his hands, literally, throughout every exercise and activity, manually supporting his hands and fingers in participation.
Despite all this, Luke LOVED Kindermusik. He began to get excited when we’d pull into the parking lot for Kindermusik, squealing, smiling, and kicking his legs in excitement! Then one day, as we left class I put Luke in his car seat. I sat my keys in his lap while I buckled him in and he took my keys, put them between his legs, and put his arms up and out to his sides. Luke was mimicking! Luke was trying to play! Luke was thinking in his sweet little brain:
“Jingle, jingle, jingle, go the car keys.
Jingle, jingle, jingle, go the keys.
Lost them, lost them, where are the car keys?”
I couldn’t wait to tell Miss Beth…and everyone else for that matter! Continue reading “Luke's Story: How Kindermusik Helped One Child”
